Cagney's Story
by The Big Lazy Dragon
Summary: The discovery of a litter of kittens behind my house inspired me to write this. Elisa tells Goliath the story of how she got her cat Cagney.


Cagney's Story

Written by Donald E. Fleming II

Story concept by Donald E. Fleming II

Disclaimer: All Gargoyles characters are the property of Disney and Buena Vista Studios and are being used without their consent or permission. Other Gargoyle characters are the property of The Gargoyle Saga (TGS) writing staff and also are being used without their permission. I am receiving no reward for this story other than the satisfaction of being able to share it with others as it is intended solely for my own entertainment and the entertainment of Gargoyle fandom everywhere.

This story was inspired by the discovery of a litter of kittens outside my home. As someone who's a bit of a cat person at heart, I decided to write this little tale (no pun intended).

_Elisa's apartment_

Elisa stood at the counter, the food dish in front of her as she opened the can of Cagney's favorite food, while in the living room, the gray cat lay on the couch, purring contentedly as Goliath raked the base of his ears with his talons. Elisa turned as she picked up the dish and set it on the floor. The gray cat's head perked up as he heard his dish being placed on the floor and darted towards the kitchen, taking the direct route, which happened to be across Goliath's lap.

"I always suspected that cat had his own set of priorities," Goliath said, turning to give the cat an unappreciative grumble as he watched the cat rub up against Elisa's leg in gratitude before settling down to eat.

Elisa laughed as she looked at him. "Did he hurt your pride?" she asked.

"Not as much as he would have had he been somewhat larger," Goliath said. "I certainly hope that that is the extent of his rambunctiousness."

"Cagney? Rambunctious?" Elisa laughed. "I think the only time he moves is when he wants me to feed him." She paused as she looked down at the cat, who was quickly devouring his dinner. She bent down and carefully ran her hand along the cat's back. Cagney arched his back in response to the touch, but didn't stop eating.

"You seem to dote on him quite often," Goliath said.

"I do, don't I?" she said. As soon as Cagney finished eating, he looked up at her expectantly, and she picked him up, carrying him back to the couch. "I guess it's because I want to make sure he's happy and healthy." She began stroking the cat as he curled up in her lap. "He didn't have it easy the first few weeks of his life."

"How so?" Goliath asked.

Elisa looked up at him. "I never told you how I got him, did I?"

"No," Goliath said. "I simply assumed you have always had him. He has been a part of your life since before you and I met."

"He has, hasn't he?" Elisa said. "I guess it's one of those things you overlook. You get so used to seeing something every day and you start to think that's it's always been there. Hell, the World Trade Center went up when I was just a kid, and I just can't seem to remember a day when it wasn't part of the skyline." She returned her attention to the cat. "You want to hear this?" she asked.

Goliath reached over and took the cat from her. He cradled Cagney in the crook of his arm while he resumed raking the base of the cat's ears with his talons. "I do, my Elisa."

Elisa gently petted the cat's head, then shifted on the couch so that she was facing Goliath. "It was about two years before I met you guys," she said. "I was still a beat cop, still in blues, and I was partnered up with Morgan on Halloween night..."

_October 31, 1992_

_Manhattan_

"God, I hate working a beat on Halloween," Officer Elisa Maza said.

"Man, I know what you mean," Sargent Morgan said. "I should be at home with the wife, going through the kids' candy sacks. Not driving around on a night like this."

It was raining out, and there was a chill in the night air. Elisa looked over at her partner as she heard him sniffle. "Sinuses acting up again?" she asked.

"Yeah," Morgan said. "God, I hate this weather."

"Well, don't worry," Elisa said. "We've only got..." She paused as she checked her watch. "Three more hours left."

"Great," Morgan said. He stopped the police cruiser at a red light and waited for the light to change. "Well, at least there's one thing to be thankful for."

"What's that?" Elisa asked.

"No one's going to be crazy enough to be out on a night..."

Suddenly, they heard a shot ring out, and Elisa turned to see someone run out of the store next to them. For a split second, the bandit paused as he looked squarely at the squad car in front of him, then raised his gun. Elisa ducked as the bullet shattered the window.

"Jeez!" she swore as she watched the armed gunman take off down the street, heading in the direction they had just come from. She jumped out of the car and took off after him. "Oh no, you don't!" she said as she drew her gun, ready to use it if she had to. She didn't even pause as she heard Morgan turn the squad car around in the street and follow in pursuit.

The gunman paused as he heard Elisa chase after him. He ducked around the corner of a building and turned towards her. Elisa stopped and took cover as she saw the gunman aim his weapon at her, then heard him cursing loudly.

"Stupid piece of shit!" he swore.

_Jammed,_ she thought as she peaked out to see him trying desperately to clear his weapon. She left the doorway she had ducked into and ran towards him.

The gunman looked up as he heard Elisa closing in on him. He threw the useless gun at her, then took off down the alley. Elisa paused long enough to pick up the discarded weapon and tuck it under her belt before resuming the chase.

"Elisa, wait for back-up!" she heard Morgan call out as the squad car pulled across the entrance to the alley. But she was already closing on the suspect.

She found him at the end of the alley, trying to climb a chain-link fence. She looked up as he neared the top, already sensing that he was going to make a clean getaway, and didn't even see the razor wire that ran across the top. His hand closed on a section of the wire and he cried out in pain as it bit into his hand. He fell backwards onto the wet pavement. Elisa was on him in an instant.

"Just where do you think you're going?" she quipped as she forced him onto his stomach and grabbed his wrists.

"I wasn't doing anything," he protested.

"Then why did you shoot at me and my partner?" she asked.

"Just havin' a little Halloween fun?" he offered.

"Yeah, right," Elisa said as she finished cuffing him. She hauled him to his feet as Morgan came running down the alley.

"It looks like you got him," Morgan said with a smile, although he was breathing a little hard.

"Yeah, I got him," she said. She took the gun the suspect had thrown at her out from under her belt and handed it to Morgan. "Lucky for me his gun jammed on him."

"Damn lucky, I'd say," Morgan said. He took the gunman by the arm and began leading him towards the waiting squad car. "You know, if your pop ever finds out about this..."

But Elisa was no longer listening to him. Her ears had picked up on something by the fence.

"What is it?" Morgan asked.

"I don't know," she said. She paused as she waited for the sound to repeat. Not hearing it again, she turned towards her partner. "You go ahead and read him his rights. I'll be along in a minute."

"Okay, Elisa," he said. He began reciting the Miranda rights to the gunman while he led him out of the alley.

Elisa moved closer to the fence. Taking out her flashlight, she began moving the beam of light along the bottom of the fence, hoping to find whatever it was she had heard before.

The sound was finally repeated. A faint mewling sound that came from under a pile of boxes. As she moved closer, she could hear it continuing. Taking a deep breath, she moved the boxes aside.

"Oh my God," she said as she located the source of the plaintive mewling.

There was a small gray kitten huddled amongst the boxes. Its fur was soaked from the rain and Elisa could see it shivering, both from the cold and from fright. It looked up at her and meowed mournfully.

"Where did you come from?" she asked the tiny kitten. "Where's your momma?" Elisa looked around. _No other cats in the area, _she noted as she turned her attention back to the shivering kitten. She reached down carefully and picked it up. "Did she abandon you? Poor thing. Let's see if we can get you warmed up a bit." She opened her raincoat and tucked the tiny creature inside, noting for a moment just how small it was. _Must've been the runt of the litter, _she thought. _Poor guy's no bigger than my hand. _"Well, I won't let you go hungry," she told the crying kitten. Turning, she headed towards the car.

Morgan was just closing the back door of the squad car as Elisa emerged from the alley. "Did you find whatever it was you thought you heard?" he asked.

"Yeah," Elisa said. She opened her raincoat just a bit to allow him to see the kitten. "Found him under some boxes." She closed her raincoat as she opened the door to the car. "That emergency blanket still in the trunk?" she asked.

"Yeah," Morgan said. He went to the trunk and opened it, pulling out a blanket as Elisa began clearing the broken glass from the seat. He handed the blanket to her as she got into the car. As soon as he closed the door, Elisa pulled the mewling kitten from her raincoat and began wrapping him with the blanket.

"There you go, little guy," she said. "This'll keep you nice and warm." She waited until Morgan got into the squad car and started the engine. "Poor guy must be starving to death," she said, listening to the kitten's plaintive crying. "I hope he can hold out until we can get back to the station."

"You thinkin' about keeping him?" Morgan asked.

"Looks like," Elisa said. She sat back, trying to comfort the tiny animal as the squad car rolled off into the night.

_23rd Precinct Station_

_Squad Room_

Elisa sat at a desk, taking the statement from the storeowner who had been robbed while she kept an eye on the tiny kitten. As soon as she and Morgan returned to the station, Elisa had gone to the locker room to retrieve a towel to dry the animal while Morgan took the gunman to Booking.

"Is he yours?" the storeowner asked as soon as Elisa finished taking his statement.

"What?" she asked.

"The kitten," the storeowner asked. "Is he yours?"

"He is now," she said. "Found him in the alley where we caught the guy who robbed you."

The kitten mewled at Elisa, looking up at her expectantly. He was dry now, and one of the other officers had scrounged up a box for her to put the kitten in.

"Sounds like he's hungry," the storeowner said.

"I think he is," Elisa said. "Problem is, I don't know if he can take solid food yet. He looks like he should still be taking milk from his mother, wherever she is."

"You can probably give him a little formula," the storeowner said. "That's what my wife gave some of our cats when their mother died."

"Thanks for the suggestion, Mr. Cagney," Elisa said.

"My pleasure, officer," he said.

_Elisa's apartment_

_Present day_

"You named him after the storeowner?" Goliath asked.

"It seemed right," Elisa said. "He did give me a few cans of baby formula and an eyedropper to feed Cagney with until he could take solid food. For a while, it was touch and go. Every day, it was a question as to whether or not Cagney was going to make it through the day, but eventually..." She paused as Cagney leapt from Goliath's arm into her lap, where he curled up into a ball. Elisa stroked the cat's fur as he went to sleep.

"He loves you very much," Goliath said.

"I saved his life, Goliath," she said. "If it hadn't been for me, he would have starved to death in that alley. Just another forgotten stray."

"But now, he has a loving home," Goliath said. "And a caring mistress who will take care of him for the rest of his days." He put his arm around Elisa's shoulders and pulled her close. "Just as I will watch over you, my Elisa."

"I like the sound of that," Elisa said, smiling as she snuggled against Goliath's broad chest while casually stroking the fur of the one creature who meant as much to her as Goliath did. Her Cagney.

The End


End file.
